Tuesday, April 11, 2017

Sweat, the searing new play on Broadway at Studio 54 (254 West 54th Street), is the recipient for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The Pulitzer Prize citation lauded Sweat, “For
a nuanced yet powerful drama that reminds audiences of the stacked deck
still facing workers searching for the American dream.”

With yesterday’s Pulitzer news, playwright Lynn Nottage
becomes the first woman to win two Pulitzers for Drama. She joins an
esteemed group of playwrights who have won multiple Pulitzers that
includes theatre titans Edward Albee, Eugene O’Neill, Robert E. Sherwood, Thornton Wilder, Tennessee Williams, and August Wilson.

Playwright Lynn Nottage
said, “I am grateful to the Pulitzer panel for recognizing my play. I
share this honor with an amazing group of collaborators who poured their
energy and passion into the making of Sweat. I am eternally thankful for their beautiful contributions – director Kate Whoriskey; Oregon Shakespeare Festival and Arena Stages, which co-commissioned the play; producers Stuart Thompson and Louise Gund; The Public Theater; early support from the McCarter Theatre and The Lark; and the all of the casts, designers, and crew members.

However, this play wouldnot
exist if the good people of Reading, PA hadn't so generously invited me
into their community to listen to their uncensored stories. The role of
an artist is to witness and reflect, and to be in dialogue with the
culture at large. As a woman of color, I feel an even greater urgency to
flex my voice, and it is gratifying to know that there is an audience
that will lean in and engage even when the stories are challenging.”

Sweat, the play by newly minted two-time Pulitzer Prize winner Lynn Nottage, directed by Kate Whoriskey began performance at Studio 54 on March 4 and opened on March 26, 2017 to critical acclaim,

Sweat was chosen as one of the Best Plays of 2016 by The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, Time Out New York, The Star-Ledger, The Bergen Record, Deadline, The Wrap, The Huffington Post, New York Amsterdam News, Theatermania, and Broadway World.